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Explosive Devices have accounted for around 800 of the roughly 1,100 U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan. To counter these increasingly-lethal bombs, the U.S. military is spending billions of dollars on blast-resistant vehicles specially tailored for Afghan terrain. But in addition to their high cost, the complex new vehicles can be a logistical burden.

In Dangam district, eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade is on its way to a meeting with district officials. To reach the meeting, the soldiers must cross a wide riverbed. Previously, this would have been a problem.

On several occasions, the Taliban have ambushed vehicles mired in the riverbed's rough terrain.

The lightweight, standard-issue Humvee is vulnerable to enemy fire and the heavier Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected truck (MRAP) is too top-heavy for steep inclines.

Fortunately, the troops of the 173rd Airborne have just received their first All-Terrain Vehicle version of the MRAP, the M-ATV. The 15-ton vehicle is nimble enough for rough terrain and sufficiently armored to deflect all but the biggest bombs.

The MRAP vehicle has its roots in the Iraq war. Improvised Explosive Devices wreaked havoc with the boxy, M-1151 Humvees. With their v-shaped bottoms, the MRAPs deflected blasts and saved hundreds of American lives.

But in Afghanistan, the MRAPs tended to roll over on mountain roads. So the Pentagon awarded a $4 billion contract to build a version with a lower center of gravity and improved suspension. The first of 6,000 M-ATVs arrived in Afghanistan late last year.

"The MRAP ATV for this type of terrain I feel is more versatile, with the tire inflation system," said Geringer. "It's more rugged vehicle and I think it would handle the terrain a little bit easier than some of the other vehicles."

But in addition to their high cost -- three times that of a Humvee -- the M-ATVs are mechanically complex. Staff Sergeant Richard Green, an 82nd Airborne Division mechanic, found this out first-hand when he accidentally damaged his unit's first M-ATV.

"There's a nut on the inside of the oil pan. The bolt came out. But the nut was not welded correctly to the oil pan, so the nut fell off. The bolt comes out and there was no way to hold the oil in the pan. So we had to take the engine pack out and replace it," recalled Green.

The M-ATVs are also a major logistical challenge. The Pentagon transports them by air in order to meet the high demand, adding a 10-percent premium to the vehicle's cost.

Then, it can take a team of 10 people several hours to unload a shipment of five M-ATVs. On a 747 freighter, there are just centimeters of clearance between the M-ATVs and the plane's sides.

In combat, the frontline soldiers don't care about the M-ATV's logistical burden. They only care that it's safer and better-protected than other vehicles.

"I would feel more confident, comfortable and safe going outside the wire in one of the MRAP variants than I would in the 1151s," noted Geringer.

Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

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Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

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Fifty years ago, lawmakers approved, and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The measure outlawed racial discrimination in voting, giving millions of blacks in many parts of the southern United States federal enforcement of the right to vote. Correspondent Chris Simkins introduces us to some civil rights leaders who were on the front lines in the struggle for voting rights.

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Scientists have long been trying to develop an effective protection and cure for malaria - one of the deadliest diseases that affects people in tropical areas, especially children. As the World Health Organization announces plans to begin clinical trials of a promising new vaccine, scientists in South Africa report that they too are at an important threshold. George Putic reports, they are testing a compound that could be a single-dose cure for malaria.

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The latest issue of 'New York' magazine features 35 women who say they were drugged and raped by film and television celebrity Bill Cosby. The women are aged from 44 to 80 and come from different walks of life and races. The magazine interviewed each of them separately, but Zlatica Hoke reports their stories are similar.

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